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Friday, November 18, 2011

My son started full time pre-k this past September. I told myself I would go back to work when he started school full time. I started (passively) looking for an opportunity in August and really kicked my search into full gear in October.

I have always used search firms/agencies in the past and was always successful. This time around was different. The job market has changed so much since the last time I worked. Recruiters are looking for candidates with specific talents. I must admit, my job search this go around was difficult and I started to get down on myself. I know I'm a good candidate, but I almost felt as if I was being discriminated against. It was as if just because I didn't have recent employment experience, I was not good enough for any positions they had. Very disheartening to say the least.

I would wake up every day and repost/refresh my resume on Monster and Careerbuilder. Those job boards are so saturated and don't really work, at least not for me. I think they're a great way for recruiters to fill their "pipeline" as they call it, but that's about it. I did get a few hits off of both of those sites, but most jobs were garbage for the most part. It was as if the person sourcing for the job didn't read my salary requirements or my educational background. One job I was contacted about paid less than what I earned in my first corporate position, before I even had a degree (now I have two degrees).

I started using the job feature on Linkedin.com. I would get on Linkedin.com every day and search the most recent positions posted. I would search all positions, not just opportunities in a specific category. I finally found an opportunity a few weeks ago and thought to myself, I can do that! I submitted my resume and cover note and was contacted the next day. We set up an interview for the following week. Fast forward a few weeks and I was offered the position. Yay! I'm so excited. I start the Monday after Thanksgiving.

For those of you who are unemployed, please look into Linkedin's job search feature. If you don't have a profile, set one up. It worked for me!

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